阿郑师傅木工部落格

Jervois Road B

2012/08/28

Ah Zheng Shifu completed work at this house, also situated along Jervois Road quite some time ago. He installed the floors, and he made the Solid Teak doors. The rest are the main contractor’s carpentry.

11x95x300-1200mm Burmese Teak

The color selection was masterfully done. Every piece was selected carefully and color matched to make sure the color tone for the floor is as even as possible.

Living room viewed from another angle

Same Burmese Teak floor

The floor in another room. Like the living room, the color selection was superb.

The floors are well done, but whats challenging are the shutter doors. There are a total of 4 solid Teak doors, all made by Ah Zheng Shifu.

Some photos of the doors being made:

Mortise

The mortise neatly excavated from the Teak wood

Tenon

The tenon joints expertly cut with clean lines.

Ah Zheng Shifu and his team assembling the fixed shutter doors

The completed doors!

Solid Burmese Teak Door

Now its open~

Burmese Teak door with shutters open

Now its close!

Burmese Teak door with shutters closed

3 of the doors made are fixed shutters, where the shutters are for decoration and cannot be opened. This is because they are sliding doors and if the shutters are opened the doors cannot be closed. Hence the owner decided to omit the function to open and close the shutters.

View of 3 doors from living room

To view the photo album of this project please visit: Jervois Road B

Timber Fencing

2012/08/27

Ah Zheng Shifu was commissioned to remove and install new timber fences at a condo in Chestnut Drive. Here comes the photos!

Ah Zheng Shifu posing for the camera

A completed unit

The work is to replace the timber fences for all the units at this condo. Timber chosen in this project is Treated New Zealand Radiata Pine. Color used is OSMO Country Color white.

Treated New Zealand Radiata Pine

OSMO Country Color

Balau Deck! Part A

2012/08/25

An introduction to Balau, or called Bangkirai in other countries.

It is the cheapest outdoor suitable timber in Singapore. It may not be as pretty to look at as Teak, nor does it has the reputation of Chengal. However if installed properly it will last very very long.

Almost all the major public projects in Singapore are installed with Balau due to its very good price to performance ratio. For example Gardens by the Bay, Marina Bay Sands.

I would like to use this project as an opportunity to share how not to install Balau decks, and what is the best way to install it to maximize the Balau’s lifespan.

The Balau deck in question:

3 year old balau deck intended for replacement.

When i saw this deck my heart broke. The main reason this deck needs to be replaced is because it was not installed properly at the start.

The deck is only 3 years old (or so the MCST say), the surface material is a thick 1.5inches, and the frame was constructed out of 45x70mm Balau. All very good stuff, and if installed the right way, should last a decade or more. Now it has to be replaced within less than half of its lifespan. Very wasteful.

2 main reasons why the deck has to be replaced.

Deck dislodging from the frame because the nail rust and disintegrated

First reason: Steel nails was used to install the deck.

Steel nails SHOULD NOT be used to install any OUTDOOR FEATURES. The nails would rust and literally disintegrate into nothing overtime. As you can see from the picture, the Balau is actually still in a very good shape, but as the nails holding the surface material to the frame are gone, the surface is starting to dislodge and popping out.

The reason nails are used is because they are cheap, and it is also the cheapest way to install the deck. However i think in the long run the homeowner pays the ultimate price because they got to replace the deck so frequently.

I always tell my customers if i can find stainless steel nails in Singapore i would use it. But unfortunately i cant.

Balau Frame rotting

Second reason: The Balau frame did not undergo chemical treatment before being used

Balau has is undoubtedly durable. However only its heartwood is durable. The sapwood of Balau is much less durable, and since the saw mills in Singapore dont care whether you get heartwood or sapwood, all Balau intended for framework should undergo treatment first before installation.

The treatment, called Tanalization, pumps preservatives into the sapwood of Balau via vacuum, and protects it from rot.

Another picture of Balau rotting.

Tanalisation for surface material is not as critical as the frame, as the surface materials are supposed to be replaceable. However because the surface materials in this deck are installed via nails, there is no way to remove the planks without damaging the deck itself.

Deck planks dislodging due to the wood around the nail softening and losing grip. Most of the nails have also rusted and disintegrated

Thats all for today. Attached is a research paper from French research institute CIRAD on BANGKIRAI. Please click on the link to download PDF.

Projects update

2012/08/25

Ah Zheng Shifu has been pretty busy this few weeks, and has taken on a few new projects on his own.

He’s workload is finally starting to pick up after going independent.

Below are 2 recent completed works with short descriptions.

Deck installed via a hidden nail method that Ah Zheng Shifu came up with.

As my company is the timber floor sub contractor for the entire Nova 48+88 project off Balestier Road, we do have some 土地公advantage there in getting deals.

This deck was installed by Ah Zheng Shifu in 3 days, with all the joints and lines matched perfectly with each other. The entire planter box was covered with 5 removable panels to facilitate cleaning. Making the planter area removable does entails additional cost, and Shifu charges for it.

Solid America White Oak floor, installed without plywood underlay

Next up is a American White Oak floor project. This floor was very hard to install as there was no room for a plywood sub floor in the budget. I guess only Ah Zheng Shifu can still pull it off.

The end result was a spectacular floor.

Solid American White Oak Floor

Solid American White Oak Floor, Coated with Waterbased Finish

By the way, some thoughts on the pictures. The three pictures above all show the same Oak floor. And to my eyes, their color at site are all the same. However just by tweaking the color balance of my camera, i produced vastly different color of the same floor.

So i would just like to tell everyone, dont look at the color of the timber floor in magazines and go looking for the exact same color. As long as the floor is not stained, the species in question is more important.

Wall Paneling at Jervois Road

2012/08/01

This project is probably one of the most difficult ones, simply because this owner/friend’s attention to detail is mind boggling. My company did his house’s timber floor 2 years ago, and while we were installing the timber floors for his neighbour he floated the idea of installing Teak panels in his bedroom. This got me really excited as it would be a great and fun job. A quick assessment of his existing room and i came up with this specifications. Solid Burmese Teak panels, 11x140x2800mm (every piece is a single strip from floor to ceiling) 12mm Marine Plywood, treated with solignum Kerakoll MS-Polymer Glue Stainless Steel Nails OSMO Hardwax Oil Original Matt Every component is top in its class, so is the installer Ah Zheng Shifu. This is the original state of the room, with nice linen wallpaper.

Original state

If you look carefully you can see the existing timber floor is also 140mm in width. The idea is to install the panels aligned to the floor panels so that they look like an extension of the existing floor.

Day One

Marine plywood panels

Discounting the time taken to set up the logistics, the entire day one was spent on installing the plywood underlay. In this project either a plywood or batten underlay is necessary because hidden nail installation method was chosen. As the Teak panels used in this project is thin relative to its width (11x140mm!), they would have a tendency to warp. After some deliberation the plywood is chosen because it provides a larger surface area to glue the panels and would provide a more solid foundation. The final wall would also feel more solid.

Second photo showing the whole room clad in marine plywood.

The difficulty at this stage of installation lies in the termination and edges. As the request is for the edges of the panel to blend into the wall seamlessly, it was very importation that the plywood is installed properly with no or little protruding edges.

Checking the edges for level

Leveling the edges after unevenness found

Day Tw0

Ah Zheng Shifu started installation of the actual panels on day 2. He spent around 2 hours in the early morning to sort the Teak panels that arrived on site from the supplier. Color sorting for timber is very important, as it greatly affects the final appearance of the wall, even more so than the color tone of individual panels. The concept is the same for timber floors. As long as color sorting is done properly, even panels that look bad by themselves can blend into the rest nicely and unobtrusively. Everything was moving along smoothly but towards the end of the day, a slight hiccup occurred. Ah Zheng Shifu placed 5 similarly colored panels together, aiming for best color blending. However these 5 panels came from the same trunk, hence all 5 panels got knots similarly placed. This resulted in a very odd pattern on the main wall. Upon seeing this, the owner rejected the placement. Luckily for Ah Zheng Shifu the panels were freshly glued, and he managed to remove them without damaging any but the first piece.

Removing the said panels, the odd pattern that the owner rejected is still visible

So day two ended with the incident where Ah Zheng Shifu was asked to remove 5 panels.

Day Three

In day two Shifu installed the panels for 1 wall and took out 5 panels.

Today he continued installation after putting back 5 nicer looking ones, albeit with a slightly more different color tone. Progress in day 3 was good with no hiccups.

The terminations are what will make or fail this project. For Ah Zheng Shifu he knew what to do exactly and we understood each other well enough that he knows what are my expectations and i know what he is capable of.

Ah Zheng Shifu chiseling out the square and straight lines for the recessed light switches

Square recess for switches, check out the clean and straight lines

Rectangular recess for light switches

At the end of the day the second and most difficult wall is completed. This wall is very difficult to install because of a window. The window is not perpendicular (yes it is not), hence it is very tedious as every edge where the panels meet the window has to be custom measured to ensure a tight fit.

End of day 3, most difficult wall completed

Day Four

Building on the momentum accumulated thus far, day four passed by smoothly. Ah Zheng Shifu was able to complete the rest of the room in day four, save for the terminations that would be cladded in real Teak veneer.

By the time i reach the site at the end of the day, i was already greeted with this and finally can visualize the end product.

End of day 4, remaining wall with glass panel completed

Day Five

According to the schedule day five was supposed to be the last day for installation, and day six was strictly only for final coating.

Progress was good but because of the complexities involved with sealing up all the exposed plywood at the edges with Teak veneer, work dragged on into the evening.

In the Ah Zheng Shifu has to ask two of his apprentices back in China to come help him finish up the work.

That day, that night, 那一天, 那一夜, we work in silence till 10pm like covert operatives, but instead of infiltrating enemy grounds, we were busy sticking veneers.

Previously exposed edge sealed with Teak veneer, covering up the plywood base and side of Teak panel

All edges sealed with Teak veneer

The finishing for the recessed light switch posed a problem initially as we debated on how to seal it and blend it into the surroundings properly.

Lots of ideas were thrown around, including wrapping the insides of the recess with Teak veneer or even wrap the switches with Teak veneer.

However since we are running out of time and being a practical person :P, i proposed spraying the edges matt black. And i did the spraying. Haha.

Exposed edge which shows plywood expertly sealed with real Teak veneer

Exposed plywood edge expertly sealed with real Teak veneer

Ah Zheng Shifu also completed the veneers for the window frames in this room. The window frames are made of aluminium and painted grey, which is a mismatch with the theme for this room, which was adorably dubbed “Mandalay” by the owner. Ah Zheng Shifu proposed wrapping the frame with Teak veneer to hide the aluminium. It was an idea whose result hinges on the level of execution.

I have to say the execution/workmanship was excellent.

Window wrapped in Teak veneer

A small but important detail that was followed since the start of the project:

Wall panels lined up with existing timber floor boards

All the panels on the wall are of the same width as the floorboards. Hence the panels are lined up with the floor meticulously right from the start. It may seem like a minor detail but it has a big impact on the final look and feel of the entire room.

This simple persistence for perfection also increased the difficulty of the work as the wall panels have to be installed with constant reference to the floor boards. Because of this the last piece of the wall panels are also at a weird width that required the whole 2700mm strip to be cut onsite with a circular saw. The straightness of the cut depends solely on the skill of Ah Zheng Shifu.

Day Six

I will let the photos speak for themselves.

Room clad in solid Burmese Teak panels

Completed room with furniture moved in

Recessed light switches with edges sprayed black

The result of the sprayed edges. Not bad considering the amount of work involved.

To sum up i am very grateful to the owner for placing his trust in me and Ah Zheng Shifu, and gave me the chance to manage this project in my spare time aside my day to day duties at my company. The entire project took a mere 9 days starting from the day the main contractor took down the old wall paper and applied sealant to the walls. It was an adrenaline filled 9 days with all involved, especially Ah Zheng Shifu and his apprentices, working together to achieve the common goal of completing the project before the 27th July.

It was an invaluable experience that will follow me to the grave.
Thank you John, on behalf of Ah Zheng Shifu and from me with gratitude.

For more photos please visit the web album at http://www.flickr.com/photos/81480538@N03/sets/72157630817379386/

First Post

2012/07/29

This is the first post on behalf of Ah Zheng Shifu. This project is symbolic in many ways. First and foremost this is Ah Zheng Shifu’s first independent project. Secondly this is a crusade to promote the use of stainless steel screws as the preferred method to install timber decks in Singapore. I will write about this issue another time. The deck’s surface material is solid Burmese Teak in the 20x120x900-1800mm specification. The finish used is an unique oil and wax combination from Germany that is superior to locally available coatings in many ways. First day of installation: